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At the end of the 12th century, Philip II the Augustus had a feudal fortress erected near the banks of the Seine to defend Paris against enemy invasions. Its imposing circular keep, the Louvre Tower, also served as a prison: after the victory of Bouvines in 1214, the Count of Flanders was detained there for thirteen years. Louis IX was the first to store within these walls the jewels of the Crown of France. When Charles V decided to take the Louvre as his royal residence, he ordered its enlargement and the construction of a new enclosure around Paris. After being occupied during the Hundred Years' War by the English, the building was gradually abandoned. It was not until 1528, when Francis I moved in, that major works began. They are continued by his successors, associating over the centuries renowned architects and artists.

The move of Louis XIV at Versailles in 1682 halted work at the Louvre. Occupied by the French Academy, then by the Academy of Fine Arts, it becomes the center of French artistic life. The philosophers of the Enlightenment, led by Diderot and Voltaire, dreamed of transforming it into the great museum of the nation. Their aspiration came true during the French Revolution with the opening of the Museum of Arts in 1793. The curious flocked from all over Europe to admire the paintings from the royal collections. With Napoleon I, the museum took on a new lease of life. In 1802, the Emperor entrusted its administration and expansion to Vivant Denon, who had the ambition to make it the ideal museum. At the same time, the scientists who accompanied the imperial military campaigns were taking possession of a number of priceless pieces. Important building sites were relaunched, which were compromised due to the defeat of Waterloo in 1815 and the fall of the empire.